Drug Abuse and Addiction

DRUG ABUSE AND ADDICTION









Introduction
Plenty of people do not understand why individuals become addicted to drugs or how drugs change the brain to foster compulsive drug abuse. They mistakenly view drug abuse and addiction as strictly a social problem and may characterize those who take drugs as morally weak. One of the strongest beliefs is that drug abusers should be able tostop taking drugs if they are only willing to change their behaviour. What people often underestimate is the complexity of drug addiction. It is important to understand that it is a disease that impacts the brain and because of that, stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. At the present time, through scientific advances, it is possible to know considerable more about how exactlydrugs work in the brain, and also the appropriate means to treat the drug addiction successfully in order to help people to stop abusing drugs and to restart their productive lives.
















Drug Addiction
Addiction is a chronic, often relapsing brain disease that causes compulsive drug seeking and use despite harmful consequences to the individual who is addicted and tothose around them. Drug addiction is a brain disease because the abuse of drugs leads to changes in the structure and function of the brain. Although it is true that for most people the initial decision to take drugs is voluntary, over time the changes in the brain caused by repeated drug abuse can affect a person’s self control and ability to make sound decisions, and at the same time send intenseimpulses to take drugs.
It is because of these changes in the brain that it is so challenging for a person who is addicted to stop abusing drugs. Fortunately, there are treatments that help people to counteract addiction’s powerful disruptive effects and regain control. Research shows that combining addiction treatment medications, if available, with behavioral therapy is the best way to ensuresuccess for most patients. Treatment approaches that are tailored to each patient’s drug abuse patterns and any co-occurring medical, psychiatric, and social problems can lead to sustained recovery and a life without drug abuse.
Similar to other chronic, relapsing diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, or heart disease, drug addiction can be managed successfully. And, as with other chronicdiseases, it is not uncommon for a person to relapse and begin abusing drugs again. Relapse, however, does not signal failure, it rather indicates that treatment should be reinstated, adjusted, or that alternate treatment is needed to help the individual regain control and recover.
Effects of drug abuse on the brain.
Drugs are chemicals that tap into the brain’s communication system and disrupt theway nerve cells normally send, receive, and process information. There are at least two ways that drugs are able to do this: by imitating the brain’s natural chemical messengers and by over stimulating the “reward circuit” of the brain.
Some drugs, such as marijuana and heroin, have a similar structure to chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, which are naturally produced by the brain.Because of this similarity, these drugs are able to deceive the brain’s receptors and activate nerve cells to send abnormal messages.
Other drugs, such as cocaine or methamphetamine, can cause the nerve cells to release abnormally large amounts of natural neurotransmitters, or prevent the normal recycling of these brain chemicals, which is needed to shut off the signal between neurons. Thisdisruption produces a greatly amplified message that ultimately disrupts normal communication patterns.
Nearly all drugs, directly or indirectly, target the brain’s reward system by flooding the circuit with dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter present in regions of the brain that control movement, emotion, motivation, and feelings of pleasure. The overstimulation of this system, which normally...